Foiled Again! More Kaiser Aluminum Spots by Stan Freberg

We’re continuing from where we left off last week, with more goodies from the Kaiser quilted foil collection. Stan Freberg conceived these spots for the Young & Rubicam agency, and also appeared as the voice of Clark Smathers, the aluminum foil salesman. The animation was produced by Playhouse Pictures.

Statue

The next installment of the Clark Smathers saga. He tries once more to get the grocer to carry his wares. That’s June Foray as the shopper…

As part of the campaign to get Kaiser foil on the shelves, Stan Freberg had convinced Young & Rubicam to send out “Grocer Survival Kits” to the stores. According to Freberg’s 1988 autobiography, the kits included- “…a cardboard mallet for fighting back against overzealous Kaiser Foil salesmen. It also contained a small first-aid kit to repair bumps on the head.”

If the stores stocked Kaiser foil, the stores would be sent a supply of medals for the clerks to wear on their coats. “The medal would glitter,” said Freberg, “being laminated with Kaiser quilted foil. The medal would read, ‘DON’T HIT ME, I’VE GOT IT!’ When a customer would ask, ‘You’ve got what?’ the clerk could say, ‘Kaiser foil. Aisle 3.’”

Other Foil Grabber

Now that Kaiser foil is in the shops, Smathers must make his case to the consumers. Animation by Bill Littlejohn.

These spots referred to Munro Leaf’s “Watchbird” drawings, with lines like “Were YOU an other foil grabber this week?” and “This is Clark Smathers watching you!”

…And there were some commercials about a rival foil company trying to discover the secret of “quilting”. Here is a storyboard for what seems to be an unproduced spot. It was drawn by Chris Jenkyns, and most likely written by Stan Freberg. It is being shown in public for the first time anywhere! (Click thumbnails to enlarge)

We have even more Kaiser stuff in the files, so we may have more quilted comedy in a future post. Stay tuned…

Just want to comment. I found you by looking for info about a Kaiser quilted foil ad that I’ve always remembered — from the early days of Maverick! The animations were very slight sketches on a blank white background. R&D for Brand X are being pushed to have the quilted product ready. The R&D rep runs up a twisting stairway — just a jagged line to represent the steps climbing (as if to the top of a tower?) He cracks open a door and asks “How’s it coming ladies?” And a very creaky voice replies, “Slowly . . . very slowly,” and is revealed to be one of 2 or 3 very old ladies, quilting by hand. Somehow that just slayed me and I’ve remembered forever. I periodically reply to someone’s question, in that caricature old lady voice: “Slowly . . . very slowly,” but nobody gets it.

About Mike Kazaleh

Mike Kazaleh is a cartoonist and animator whose work can be seen in comic books like Bongo's The Simpsons, Futurama and Papercutz' Annoying Orange - and on screen in Warner Bros. Tiny Toon Adventures, Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and Cool World.